The six stood at the doors to the castle and stared at the towering spires in awe. Even if it could be seen from Ponyville every day, it was so much more imposing when one stood directly before it. The guard nearest them spoke up in a clipped tone, though his piercing stare was fixed solely upon Twilight, as was the gaze of every other guard in the area, "What business have you here?"

The others looked to Twilight, apparently confused as to why they were being questioned on this now, when they would previously have been allowed entrance at a moment's notice. Twilight noticed this and whispered quietly to them, "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just to be safe after that 'disturbance' the messenger talked about." She swallowed hard and forced down her nervousness as she approached the guard, "Princess Celestia summoned us, we're here on Elements business."

The guard squinted at her, "I haven't been informed of such."

Twilight clenched her teeth and decided to risk it. Putting as much false weariness into her voice as she could muster she hovered the lock box containing the Elements out from her saddlebag and opened it, presenting its contents. "See? Six Elements of Harmony."

The guard looked between her and the lock box multiple times before turning to his colleague, who shrugged back at him.

Twilight held the stare as confidently as she could manage, and eventually he relented, "Alright." He lowered the volume of his voice so that only Twilight could hear, "One whisper of trouble and I'll break your horn clean off. Understand?"

Twilight just ignored him and waved the others over before trotting past him through the now open doors. She began guiding the others to where the line should be for day court as Applejack spoke, "What's up with these guys?" she waved a hoof at another set of guards glaring daggers at them, or more specifically, Twilight.

Twilight shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe that incident we were told about was a changeling imposter? That would explain why they're all staring at us like this."

They rounded the next corner and Twilight allowed herself a small smile, the line was massive. 'Excellent, this should buy us plenty of time!'

Rainbow Dash sounded like she was going to burst into tears, "Twilight! You can't do this to us! Please, just tell the guards to let us in or something!"

Twilight shook her head and smiled as she levitated the Elements of Harmony from their case and placed them on their respective Bearers, "Sorry, Rainbow Dash. You have to line up, same as everypony else." The pegasus groaned and trotted over to the back of the line dejectedly, Applejack quickly following suit.

Rarity lingered a moment, "Where will you three go while you wait?"

"I think Fluttershy wanted to go visit Discord's statue while we're here. Isn't that right, Fluttershy?" Twilight raised an eyebrow at her.

"Y-Yes..." Was all the pegasus could manage before she hid behind her mane at the sudden attention.

Rarity fixed her eyes with Twilight's, "Be careful around that thing, dear, alright?"

"Of course, Rarity. Sorry about all that waiting anyway..."

Rarity just smirked, "Don't worry about it, darling. A lady doesn't complain about these things anyway." With that she turned and trotted over to the others.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy and Pinkie, drawing a deep breath, "Ready?"

"Y-Yes."

"Let's go."

Twilight eyed them warily and lowered her voice, "The guards are watching me, if you haven't already noticed. Let's try and stay out of their sight. If we can't avoid them then I'll teleport us past them, okay?"

Fluttershy nodded shyly, and Pinkie gave a quick, "Yep." She led them to one of the many side doors that lined the corridor. The others paused as she opened it, and each took one final look at those they would leave behind. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were smirking at each other, attempting some sort of mid-air hoof-wrestle, whilst Rarity levitated a hoof mirror and a brush as she 'fixed' her already flawless mane. For a moment each felt a huge compulsion to simply give up and leave this wretched business behind them. Then, for their own reasons, each hardened their heart.

'For vengeance. For Spike.'

'For friendship. For Twilight.'

'For a cure. For a life without you!'

Deep within the recesses of Pinkie's mind, a dark chuckle rang out, followed by an all-too-familiar voice, 'Oh, Pinkie. You'll never have a life without me. I am you...'

They stood by the statue as Twilight glanced around, "We should be okay, I doubt any guards will go out of their way to approach us this far outside the castle." She turned to her friends, both of whom had remained completely - and in one case, uncharacteristically - silent throughout the short journey, "Are you both ready?"

Fluttershy gave an 'eep' before speaking, "J-Just a moment, Twilight. I have an idea." They watched her as she rummaged around in her saddlebags, eventually withdrawing with Angel atop her head. She lowered her head to the statue's base, allowing the rabbit to hop onto it, "Keep watch, okay Angel? If you see anypony approaching make sure to let me know." The rabbit nodded and turned to face the other way.

Twilight rested a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, "Good thinking, Fluttershy. Are we ready?"

"R-Ready."

"Good to go."

"Okay, sit down first." They all did so, "Take a deep breath, and on the count of three, close your eyes."

Fluttershy glanced up at the sorrowful stone visage of her friend and whispered, "I'm here, Discord. I told you I wouldn't forget."

"One... Two... Three."

Darkness.

"Fluttershy!" was the first word the three heard as they glanced at each other in the mindscape. Moments later, Discord appeared before them, a huge grin on his face, "I've missed you so much!" Fluttershy felt tears form at the corners of her eyes as she galloped to embrace the draconequus, only to phase straight through him. Fluttershy wheeled around in confusion as he chuckled, "It seems you've missed me, too. Unfortunately, we're in a rather special mindscape at the moment, which means magic and physical contact are big no-no's I'm afraid."

The pegasus seemed a little downhearted but trotted back to her friends and faced him with a smile, "T-That's okay."

"Tell you what, first thing we'll do when I'm out of here is hook you up to a me-shaped hug-giving machine to compensate. Sound good?"

Fluttershy blushed and hid behind her mane, "I guess..."

Discord laughed heartily at her embarrassment, "Good, good. Thank you, by the way, Fluttershy. I knew you wouldn't forget." He grimaced and spoke quickly as he formed his words into a sentence that he'd never used before, "It, uhm... It means the world to me that you're here now." He looked away quickly, as if he hadn't said anything, though the pegasus positively beamed at him regardless.

Twilight actually allowed herself a small smile, 'All that time, he really was her friend... We were wrong about you, Discord.'

Discord looked to the other two for the first time, "And Pinkie Pie!" He levitated over to her, "I suppose you're here about my little offer, yes?"

Pinkie bounced on the spot, "Yep!"

"Well, then. Allow me to welcome you to the Discord program!" He extended his claw for her to shake, only to blow a raspberry at her as her hoof phased straight through, "Gotcha!" The two erupted into a small bout of laughter before Discord finally turned to Twilight and put on his 'serious face'. "And, of course, Twilight Sp-" He caught himself, remembering their last conversation exactly a month ago, "Twilight." He took another look around, "So, this is everypony you could convince?"

Twilight's face fell, "I tried, but in the end it's just us. Applejack is a no-go, Rarity convinced herself you can't be trusted, and Rainbow Dash flat-out refused." Fear found it's way into her voice, "W-We can still proceed, c-can't we?"

Discord stroked his beard, "Of course, it's just going to be a little harder with only two of you, not that it matters in the long run. In all honesty Pinkie here was the one I wanted you to bring along the most."

Twilight regarded him confusedly, "Two of us? But there's three of us here."

Discord's eyes widened slightly, "Wait... You convinced Fluttershy of all ponies to help you with this?" His tone suggested he wouldn't be too pleased if that were the case.

"No, she volunteered. I warned her it would be dangerous, but she insisted."

He turned to his only friend, "Is this true, Fluttershy?"

The pegasus nodded, "Yes. You and Twilight are my friends, and Princess Celestia has been horrible to both of you. I'm coming with you." she gave him a demure smile.

"Fluttershy, don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't want you with us or anything, but-"

"No, Discord, I've made up my mind." She gave him a gentle but firm look, then quietly added, "I hope that's okay..."

Discord stared at her for several moments, considering his options before waving an arm through the air, "No. It's not okay." He squinted at her for a moment before laughing, "It's fantastic! Oh, I can see it now, the times we'll have, the adventures we'll share!"

Twilight coughed to get his attention, "Not trying to be rude or anything, but we're on a deadline here. The others will only be queuing for court for so long before they finally see Celestia and figure out something's amiss."

Discord rolled his eyes and sighed, "Don't worry, the spell's going at the same pace as it would anyway. I can't just speed it up you know, otherwise I wouldn't have been sat here stoned for another miserable month." He grinned, then let his mouth droop in unison with the rest of him, "You brought the others here? To Celestia no less? What were you thinking!? That's the polar opposite of a good idea!"

Twilight sighed, "I didn't have a choice. I needed them here to pretend that we're here on 'Elements business'," she gestured to her tiara, "and even then the guards almost didn't let me in."

Discord groaned, "Oh I hope Celestia is having a bad day right now. Please! Please let some idiot be wasting her time!"

Celestia glanced down at her nephew irritably. He hadn't shut his mouth since he waltzed in little over ten minutes ago, "I am Prince Blueblood! Why should I have to pay taxes, from my own pocket no less, so that simpleton imbeciles can claim free healthcare whenever they injure themselves due to their own blatant stupidity!? Why do they not just simply contribute-"

Celestia tried her utmost to shut him out and think of what she would be saying to Shining Armor in the meeting later. Unfortunately for her, the infernal voice of her nephew was able to pierce its way through her thoughts with practised, patience-destroying ease, 'Maybe Luna was right... If we do release Discord we could ask him to make Blueblood's mouth disappear again at the very least.'

"-ctly like those peasants at the Gala that year!"

Celestia slumped ever-so-slightly on her throne, 'Oh no, not the damned Gala again!'

"Discy?"

Discord looked over at Pinkie as if she'd just murdered Fluttershy, "... Discy? Really?"

"Yeah, Discy."

"Don't call me that, and what?"

"What did you mean when you said I was the one you wanted Twilight to bring along the most?" her head flopped to one side as she asked the question.

Discord held up his claw for a moment and closed his eyes, "Yes, we probably have enough time." He opened his eyes again, "It ties in with the offer I have for you actually. Unfortunately, to get to that I'm going to have to lecture you on a few things. Namely, your brief family history and biology." He sighed, "Gather round, little fillies, it's story time..."

Pinkie jumped and landed on her haunches directly in front of him, "Yay! Story time! C'mon, Discy, I wanna hear a story!"

Discord rolled his eyes, but before he could speak another voice filled the air, "You're an idiot, Pinkie." All present froze and stared at Pinkie, it was undeniably her voice, only a note or two lower. Her friends recognised it as the one she had used at the funeral.

Pinkie just sat where she was and stared at the same place for several seconds before looking around and seeing the somewhat frightened expressions of her friends. Discord just regarded her passively, "I thought this might happen if you entered a mindscape..."

"What? What's happening?" Twilight enquired.

"All will be revealed shortly." He waved a dismissive paw at her and turned to Pinkie, "She's acting up, isn't she?" Pinkie just nodded sadly and looked at her friends. "Pinkie, even I can tell you're upset about this. I won't tell them if that's not what you want."

"No. No, it's alright. We're friends, and I trust them. Just..." Her mane deflated slightly and her eyes glimmered with rapidly welling tears as she turned to her friends, "Please don't laugh at me..." They both just nodded and sat beside her quietly.

There it was again, that little twinge in his chest. A memory resurfaced at her words, 'Oh, poor Pinkie Pie, and here I thought laughter made you happy?' He shook it off as best he could, 'Let's focus on the task at hand. The Pinkie Pie pity party can come later.'

Fluttershy reached out a foreleg to comfort her friend, only for it to pass through her, "Oh... Right."

Discord cleared his throat loudly, "It all started back during the days of my glorious rule, over a thousand years ago, a period of time now loosely referred to as the 'Chaos Wars' by some, courtesy of yours truly. Armies clashed on a day-to-day basis, the oceans would turn to custard - or worse - at will, and the cycle of day and night was all but non-existent. Oh, it was a wonderful time. So, there I was, spectating some excellent chaos, drifting along as happy as can be, when I notice something off in the distance, behind a large tree line. Upon my arrival I realised it was actually quite a large pony settlement, hidden almost flawlessly by the trees. What struck me as odd was that there was little-to-no chaos there, so naturally I got to work creating some. Trees upped sticks and joined their brethren out in the forest, a few loose pebbles rolled off and decided to form a band, all that good stuff.

Only, something was different there. The ponies weren't galloping away in fear, or screaming and crying and begging me to spare their loved ones, they just watched. Then, after a while, they started to laugh, and soon afterwards they were even applauding me! It was ridiculous! I was intentionally ruining their home and they didn't seem to have a care in the world! The showman inside me soon took over and I was performing all manner of quirky tricks. I remember now, it was the first time anypony had ever shown any appreciation of my abilities, I was actually genuinely enjoying entertaining them. I continued like this for several hours before I was visited by none other than the King himself. I believe his name was..." Discord stopped and looked at Pinkie, "King Reginald Pie."

Twilight suddenly vanished from the mindscape and reappeared a few moments later, spluttering incoherently for several seconds before speaking, "Pinkie's related to royalty!? No way. I refuse to believe it. You aren't serious!"

Discord shrugged and pointed at Pinkie, who had just tilted her head at the revelation, "She's taking it better than you are. Don't you think you're overreacting just a tad?"

The unicorn looked as if she were about to let loose the lecture of the century before she realised just what she had implied and turned to Pinkie quickly, "Oh, Pinkie, I didn't mean it like that. It just... caught me off guard."

She waved a hoof in response, her previous worries apparently forgotten at the news, "Don't worry, I wasn't expecting it either. This is the sort of twist you read about in story books!" She shook her head, "Anyways, carry on Discy, I wanna know how it ends!"

He rolled his eyes, "So, as I was saying, I was visited by the King himself, who asked that I join him for dinner as his honoured guest. It was a nice change of pace, so I just went with it, I mean, why not? Why avoid being treated like a hero for something everypony else hates you for?

Later that evening, after presenting some of my favourite tricks and devouring what was quite literally more than my fill, I found I still couldn't understand why the ponies there were different, so I asked the King himself. What he told me was more than a little disheartening. He had made his best efforts to defend his dwindling kingdom as the wars raged, but his army was in tatters after constant assaults from all sides. All that was left for him to do was watch and wait as the opposing armies closed in and finished them off, so he had issued a decree that his subjects celebrate the victories that the kingdom had won, to keep them in high spirits until the inevitable end came. He thanked me rather graciously for 'keeping the flame of hope alive' in his ponies, and informed me that the armies would be arriving within the week, and that they had nowhere to run, they were surrounded on all sides.

I was saddened to hear it, but I couldn't just directly interfere and prevent chaos by doing so. But I had an idea. I made him an offer that would allow his kingdom to once again rise up and thrive. I would imbue chaos magic into him and his subjects, granting them power and ferocity beyond what any mortal being at the time could have ever even hoped to achieve, but it would come at a price."

He began speaking as if he were conducting a 'Chaos Magic and You' lesson, "Chaos magic is dangerous you see. Volatile. It can cause... interesting side-effects, when mixed with one's genes. Even I couldn't be sure what would happen if he accepted, and I told him so. You can imagine my surprise when he accepted the moment I had finished speaking. He was a passionate leader, and volunteered himself to be the first to undergo the process to determine if it was 'safe'."

Fluttershy glanced up at him with wide eyes, "W-What happened next?"

He grinned, "It worked. Though we did agree that I would use 'slightly' less magic on his subjects. I say that because I'd never done this sort of thing with the intention of making a pony stronger before, and well..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "I... did come pretty close to accidentally killing him, once or twice."

He fought the urge to laugh at their expressions as he continued, "So anyway, I imbued my magic into everypony and bode him farewell, leaving him to prepare the final defences. In truth, I just went to find a decent spot to watch the coming battles from. Surely enough, three days later, it began." He gave Pinkie a nod, "This was where I saw the effects of my meddling for the first time. I'll spare you the grisly details." He paused and turned to Fluttershy, grinning, "Unless you want them, maybe?"

Fluttershy let out an 'eep' and shook her head, "N-No, thank you."

"Suit yourself. Really though, it truly was a sight to behold. Most of King Reginald's army had been decimated, so nearly all of the defending forces were simple militia, with maybe a few hours of basic training across the board. It looked hopeless for them, even with Reginald stirring the hearts of his followers with one of his oh-so-inspiring speeches. Then the invaders charged, followed by Reginald's army, and I saw my magic take effect. As they began to feel the fear that I'm told accompanies a battle charge, they physically began to change. Notably, their hair fell intimidatingly flat and their expressions turned from apprehensive to stoic almost immediately.

The closer the invaders came to them, the more intense the blood-lust in their eyes. It was tense. When they finally met, well," He gave Fluttershy a wink, "I promised I'd spare you the details, but let me tell you, the sudden expertise they showed with their weapons was almost unparalleled! It was incredible! These farmers and blacksmiths were putting sword masters to shame! And Reginald, wow, remind me never to use that amount of magic to augment anything ever again, the stallion was like a whirlwind of death! Needless to say I was more than pleased with myself, and it certainly wasn't boring to watch."

All three shifted uncomfortably at the thought of Discord enjoying anything so brutal, especially Fluttershy. Twilight picked up on it and spoke up, "Okay, I think we get the point. What happened afterwards?"

Discord smirked, "Why, they won, of course. With me in the mix, was there ever any doubt? As a matter of fact, they successfully drove back all the armies from the neighbouring territories. I never actually asked, but I don't think their losses went into the double-digits from that point onwards." He sighed, "That's when I started noticing the side-effects. A few of them were already finding it difficult to return to normal after the battles, and with each skirmish fought I could see that they were finding it harder. This personality they were switching to. It had a mind of it's own. Each time they used it the alter-ego was vying for dominance, and as I would eventually come to realise, control over the host's body."

Twilight leaned forwards, the whole idea fascinating her, "Then what? What happened to them?"

"In short, they rebuilt their empire, but the effects got worse and worse with each battle. It's a story for another time, and we need to keep to what relates to Pinkie here." He gestured to Pinkie, "What I can tell you is that this trait could be inherited by the foals if either parent was subject to my magic, but as the generations went on, and more ponies from outside began to seek refuge in Reginald's lands, therefore adding 'chaos free' genes to the mix, this became less and less of a problem. Believe it or not, the effect is still around today, though it is extremely diluted compared to what it was. I'm sorry to say that your pony medical knowledge leaves much to be desired, nowadays it's actually classed as a mental illness, not an inherited one. Mind you, I'm probably the only being on Equestria that actually knows any different."

"Mental illness? Which one?" Despite the fact that they were going to be escaping shortly, Twilight still wished she had a notebook to take all this down.

He stroked his beard for a moment, "I believe it's now known as bipolar disorder."

Pinkie looked up at him sadly, her mane drooping a little, "So... Is that what I have?"

Discord shook his head, "No. Yours is very different."

"How?"

"Remember I said that you were a descendant of King Reginald himself?" Pinkie nodded, "Turns out that the 'teensy' little bit of extra chaos magic he received changed him more than the others. The effect of the magic didn't weaken through multiple generations. You carry the exact same magic within you as Reginald did. Needless to say, that means that your condition is also a lot more serious." He looked down at Pinkie, apparently studying her, "There's something amiss though. If you inherited the condition then you should have succumbed to the other you's influence while you were still a foal. In effect, the Pinkie that we know would have been replaced long ago, while you were still too weak to stop it. Tell me, did something happen one day that you think might've changed your life?"

Pinkie mulled it over for a moment before realisation dawned upon her face, "The sonic rainboom!" She turned to her friends, "That has to be it!"

"Sonic rainboom? What the hell is that? It sounds like some sort of minotaur wrestling move."

Twilight shrugged, "It's a long story, we'll tell you later."

He shrugged slightly and looked at Pinkie, "So how did you feel on the day of this, 'sonic rainboom'?"

"Well, I just saw it and it was so beautiful, and it made me so happy! So I threw my first party, and then all my family was happy too! And then my cutie mark appeared! It was the happiest, most wonderful day of my life!"

"So you celebrated by locking me away in this pathetic excuse for a mind!" It was the 'other Pinkie' that had spoken, her voice seemingly coming from everywhere. Once again, Pinkie focused on nothing in particular and concentrated for a moment before looking back up at Discord.

"Well that just about sums it up then." He spoke flatly, "Pinkie, there's no sense in us skirting around the issue any longer, they've probably already more-or-less guessed it anyway." he waved a claw at the other two. "You carry another personality inside you that you've been suppressing, and it's trying to take over isn't it?"

Pinkie just stared at her hooves as she spoke, "Y-Yes... Her n-name is..." She paused and drew a sharp breath, "Pinkamena."

Pinkie was on the verge of tears as she looked at her friends ashamedly, "I'm s-sorry I never t-told you. I thought y-you'd laugh at m-me for being a f-freak."

Discord vowed to have a look inside his chest cavity first thing after being released, whatever was hurting him in there was getting worse, and the memories wouldn't stop either, 'Your friends laugh at you all the time!'

They both shook their heads and Twilight spoke gently, "Pinkie, we'd never laugh at our friend needing help."

The earth pony nodded, "I-I know, but I j-just thought it would b-be b-better not to t-tell anypony. I'm sorry."

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Discord beat her to it, "Pinkie." His voice was solemn, Twilight recognised the tone from her previous visits, "I'm... the one who... should be apologising." He spoke with his eyes closed, desperately trying to form an apology properly, it wasn't something he'd had much practice at. "This is all... my fault in the first place. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm... I'm..." He took a tremendous breath, "I'm... s-s-sorry." He cracked one eye open slightly to see Pinkie giving him a small but visible smile, as were the others.

Pinkie spoke up, "Th-Thank you, but it's okay. I mean, without your help all those ponies would've lost, right? Then I wouldn't even be here at all."

The draconequus was astounded by how philosophical the normally hyperactive pony could be, but a familiar sensation snapped him back to his senses, "Pinkie, I know this sounds rushed, but time is running out. I'll be free soon and we have yet to discuss my offer."

"Then let the delayed Discord discussion commence!"

Discord fought the urge to roll his eyes, 'At least she didn't use that horrible nickname.' He cleared his throat, "In short, I'll offer you as close to a 'cure' as I can manage, and help you cope with Pinkamena's influence, in return for your help in our quest to avenge Twilight's brother."

"Okie, dokie, lokie!" She chimed straight away.

"Wait, listen, there's more to it than just that. Unfortunately, I can't ever remove Pinkamena from you." Pinkie's face fell as he continued, "The magic is intertwined with your cells, there's little-to-nothing I can do that won't cause permanent damage. What I can do, however, is remove it from..." He coughed and looked away as he spoke in little more than a murmur, "Your... reproductive cells. They... work differently to the rest. You won't have to worry about your future foals inheriting it from you." He turned back to them awkwardly, "I know it's hardly what you were hoping for, but it's the best I can do."

Pinkie wore a slight blush but nodded slowly, "It's okay. I'll take whatever help I can get, you've got yourself a deal, Discy!"

Discord was about to protest the nickname when Twilight spoke, "There's something I just don't get. I understand what you're getting at when you're talking about genetics, but seriously, after the whole paper-eating scenario I can't imagine you sitting in a library and studying pony cell functions in your spare time, what gives?"

The draconequus put the back of his paw to his forehead dramatically, "Twilight, you wound me. Really, I've been around for millennia, I've picked up a thing or two... hundred... million, over the years. Oh, and Celestia used to read to me when we were courting, back in the day."

Twilight vanished from the mindscape once again, taking close to half a minute before re-appearing. Her expression was one of absolute horror as she stared at Discord. He lasted about two seconds before collapsing in a fit of unrestrained laughter, followed quickly by Pinkie. He could only speak after several seconds, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" She facehoofed and grumbled something about 'monsters' as he stood and made a show of brushing the imaginary dust from himself, "I mean seriously, Twilight, I do have standards!" He tried to steady his breathing but felt the final buzzing sensation wash over him, "What do you know? It's time. Wait for me outside, would you ladies? I'll just be a few minutes." He faded from view with a bow.

Twilight spoke to the others, "Okay, girls, just focus on opening your eyes and you should be back to normal straight away. Fluttershy, you first." She nodded then slowly faded away. "After you, Pinkie."

The earth pony gave a "Wheeeeeee!" as her image also vanished.

Twilight shook her head, 'Between her and Discord things are certainly going to be... interesting.' She opened her eyes.

"Finally!" Rainbow Dash shouted as the - noticeably new - doors to the throne chamber swung open. As they trotted down the centre of the room they noticed that the Princess was reading some sort of document. They came to a halt before her but waited in silence.

A few seconds later the chamber doors clanged shut, snapping Celestia from her wanderings, she looked up from the parchment she had been scanning and noticed three familiar faces staring up at her, "Applejack? Rarity? Rainbow Dash? What brings you here?"

The three shared a confused glance for a moment before Rarity looked back to the Princess and gave a bow, "A thousand pardons, your majesty, but we were under the impression that you had requested to see us?"

Celestia seemed bewildered, "I'm sorry, Rarity, I never made such a request. Who told you such?"

The jaws of the three mares before her dropped suddenly.

'That messenger lied to us!'

'I spent so long preparing myself!'

'I QUEUED FOR AGES!'

Rarity looked up and realised that the Princess was awaiting an answer, "Oh, Twilight did, your majesty. Apparently a messenger told her so."

Celestia fought to hide just how much the name still hurt her, "I never sent a messenger..." She looked at each in turn and noticed a striking similarity between them, "Why are you all wearing your Elements of Harmony?"

"Same reason, messenger told Twilight we needed them." A happy gleam appeared in Rainbow Dash's eyes as she recalled the reason they were here in the first place, "Apparently you have a secret to tell just the three of us! You do, right?"

Celestia shook her head slowly, "I think there's been a big misunderstanding here, girls."

Applejack nodded, "Ah'm sure you're right, Princess. Let's just go get the others and clear this whole thing up, they can't have gone far."

The Princess glanced around, scanning for anypony else she had missed, "Others?"

"Yeah, Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy, Prin-"

"Twilight is here!?" Celestia felt her emotions surge, everything from hurt to hope washed over her all at once.

Rarity almost took a nervous step back, "Y-yes, Princess. Is something wrong?"

Celestia noted their expressions and composed herself, "There might be. Tell me, did any of you actually see this messenger?"

The three shared a look, each shaking their heads as Applejack spoke, "Ya think he was lyin', Princess?"

Celestia cycled through the possibilities in her head, "Or perhaps, that there never was a messenger at all."

Applejack thought about it for a moment before realisation dawned in her eyes, "Wait, Princess, ya don't think Twilight lied to us do ya?"

Rainbow Dash turned to face the farmer, "No way, Twilight wouldn't do that! Why would she even bother anyway?"

Celestia watched them sadly, expecting the worst, "Girls, this might sound strange, but did Twilight tell any of you what happened in this very room a month ago?"

Again, they shared a glance and Applejack spoke up, "Yeah, actually. She said somepony came in and caused some big 'disturbance', but that she didn't know what happened. She told me she thought it was a changeling spy."

Celestia sighed and slumped on her throne slightly, "Listen, my little ponies... That 'disturbance' was actually an attempt on my life."

The three gasped collectively. Applejack wore an expression of disgust as she imagined the assailant, Rainbow Dash had leaned onto her forehooves, snarling at nothing as she thought up the same image. Rarity's eyes widened to ridiculous proportions, her shock evident as her words tumbled out at a ridiculous pace, "How terrible! Did you catch him!? Is everypony alright!? Were you-"

Celestia held up a hoof gently to stop her, though she didn't look at them, but at the floor beneath her throne. Her voice became much less powerful with each word, gradually degrading into a barely audible whisper as she spoke, "It gets worse. The one that barged in here, nearly killed two guards and made every effort in her power to end my life... was Twilight Sparkle."

Silence.

Author's Notes:

Hey all! Surprise! I'll spare you and keep this short. Found it easy to write this chapter and had lots of fun writing Discord, so I got it done in my spare hours. Don't know when the next update will be, but as mentioned previously, don't hold your breath until at least mid-way through next month (or you'll suffocate), hopefully this will keep you occupied for a while :D As always, please don't hesitate to comment your ideas/suggestions below (yes I do use some, my story plan is riddled with holes further down the line).

This has been Mikemarksman, bringing you the 'scope' of things to come.